Marijuana decriminalization bill moves to Senate

State senators from the Seacoast say they plan to vote in favor of legislation to decriminalize marijuana in New Hamphire after the bill passed the House overwhelmingly this week.

Sens. Martha Fuller Clark, D-Portsmouth, Dan Innis, R-New Castle, and David Watters, D-Dover, said this week they intend to support the decriminalization bill, House Bill 640, which passed by a vote of 318-36 Wednesday.

The bill would make marijuana possession of one ounce or less a civil violation punishable by a fine of $100 for a first offense, $200 for a second offense within three years and $350 for a third or subsequent offense within three years of two previous offenses. Marijuana possession is currently punishable by up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $2,000.

HB 640 currently has the support of Republican Gov. Chris Sununu. David Abrams, spokesman for Sununu, said Friday the governor supports decriminalizing marijuana and intends to sign HB 640.

Clark and Watters both voted in support of a similar bill last year, which was killed in the Republican-controlled Senate along a party line vote of 14-10.

Innis’s predecessor, Nancy Stiles, a Hampton Republican, voted to kill the decrimilization bill last year. Before the vote, Stiles said remarks from local law enforcement weighed heavily on her decision.

Innis said Thursday people arrested for small amounts of marijuana should not have to live with a record that drastically impacts their life.

“It ought to be decriminalized,” Innis said. “It doesn’t make sense for a kid to have a record because of something that small, you know. I think it makes sense (to decriminalize).”

Fuller Clark said decriminalizing is a positive step away from the vilification of drug users during the state’s current opioid crisis.

“The fact that we should be criminalizing people who are using marijuana, it seems to me we’re going down the wrong road,” she said. “These are people who should not be accused of a crime. We should be finding ways to treat them, educate them.”

Watters said the decriminalization bill that failed last year, HB 1631, was shot down after a deal between Gov. Maggie Hassan and Republican and Democratic caucuses fell through. He said the bill entered the Senate with support from Hassan, who gave specific criteria for the bill to gain her support, but an amendment was put on the bill that broke the agreement.

Despite Sununu’s expressed support for the bill, Watters said he is waiting to hear Sununu comment on the details in HB 640 before he gauges the extent of the governor's support.

Newly elected state Sens. Bill Gannon, R-Sandown, and James Gray, R-Rochester, were in the House last year and voted then to kill HB 1631. Gannon replaced Russell Prescott and Gray replaced Sam Cataldo, who in the Senate voted along with Stiles against HB 1631. Attempts to reach Gannon and Gray were unsuccessful.

Senate roster turnover in other parts of the state could still mean more support for decriminalization this year. The Senate is again controlled by Republicans. New state Sen. Harold French, who represents District 7, voted not to kill last year’s decriminalization bill while he was in the House. He replaced Andrew Hosmer, one of the 14 senators who shot down HB 1631 in 2016.

State Rep. Renny Cushing, D-Hampton, who sponsored HB 640, believes legalization of marijuana in Maine and Massachusetts has put pressure on New Hampshire to make their cannabis laws more lenient. He noted Vermont is also looking at legalization.

“There’s a different climate when it comes to issues relating to marijuana,” Cushing said. “New Hampshire is still the only state that makes possession of a joint punishable by a year in jail and a $2,000 fine. New Hampshire is out of step with the region.”